Guides / Writing tools

What Is Markdown? A Simple Guide to Writing for the Web

Markdown is a way of writing formatted text using plain characters. A # makes a heading and asterisks make bold text, so you can write without leaving the keyboard.

The basic syntax

• # Title makes a large heading, and ## and ### make smaller ones.
• **bold** makes bold text and *italic* makes italic text.
• [link text](https://example.com) makes a link.
• A line starting with - is a bullet point, and a line starting with 1. is a numbered item.

Where it is used

Markdown appears in README files on code websites, in note-taking apps, in documentation and in many blogging systems. The same text can be turned into HTML, so it fits well with websites.

Small differences between tools

Markdown has several versions. Some tools support tables, task lists or footnotes, and others do not. If a feature does not appear, check which flavour your tool uses.

Try it yourself

The Markdown Preview shows the formatted result as you type. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.